KENYA AND THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP SIGN AN MOU AIMED AT RAISING CAPITAL FOR KENYA’S ENERGY SECTOR

Cabinet Secretary for Energy & Petroleum Hon. Charles Keter and Mr. Nikhil Rathi, CEO of London Stock Exchange Plc on Friday 26th May 2017 signed an MOU to collaborate in raising capital for Kenya’s energy sector.

The agreement, which is the first to be signed between London Stock Exchange Plc and the Government of Kenya outlines both organizations’ commitment to raising capital for Kenya’s energy industry, through public market equity and debt listings. The MoU also lays out both parties’ plans to assemble key stakeholders to establish an effective dual-listing framework for equity listings in London and Nairobi.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum Hon Charles Keter, said that with the growing energy demand and the significant progress that Kenya continues to make in its petroleum exploration efforts, the Country recognizes that it needs to develop world class energy infrastructure.

“Our partnership with London Stock Exchange Group is driven by our realization that energy infrastructure projects are very capital intensive and mobilization of capital is critical to providing clean, sustainable, affordable, competitive and secure energy required for Kenya to improve its industrial performance. We believe that this partnership will be able to help us mobilize the capital required to accelerate the pace of energy infrastructure development in Kenya which will, in turn, drive our country to achieve its full industrial potential. As we continue to invest in our energy infrastructure, we urge companies to come and partner with us by investing in Kenya” he added.

In his address, the London Stock Exchange Group CEO stated that the Kenyan energy industry holds enormous potential for growth. “We are honoured to sign this agreement today with the Kenyan government. Part of London Stock Exchange Group’s mission is to boost access to growth capital for companies from across the world. With 106 African companies listed on our markets, we are uniquely placed to be working in partnership with the Kenyan government towards this aim” he said.

The Cabinet Secretary was accompanied by Mr. Andrew Kamau, Principal Secretary, State Department for Petroleum, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum; H.E. Lazarus Amayo, the High Commissioner of Kenya to the UK; Mrs. Anne Kamau, the Commercial Counsellor, and Mr. Daniel Kiptoo, Petroleum Legal Advisor to the Cabinet Secretary. Also, present during the signing of the MoU from the LSE Plc. included Dr. Darko Hajdukovic, Head of Analytics, Fixed Income & Funds; Mr. Ibukun Adebayo, Co-Head Emerging Markets, Equity Primary Markets; Ms. Lillian Georgopoulou, Fixed Income Product Specialist and Mr. Adam Scheuer, International Government Relations Manager.